


Homesick

by JoeMerl



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Homesickness, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Plot/Plotless, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Rayllum Week (The Dragon Prince), Rayllum Week 2018 (The Dragon Prince), that may well be Jossed by the show later.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoeMerl/pseuds/JoeMerl
Summary: "Hey, Rayla, are you feeling okay?""Yeah. I'm fine."Callum gave her a look; her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she was resting her arms and chin on top of them. Her eyes were glazed and half-lidded."You sure? You seem, I dunno―wistful,for some reason."
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Homesick

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Fanfiction.net on November 4, 2018, for Rayllum Week.

"Hey, Rayla, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Callum gave her a look; her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she was resting her arms and chin on top of them. Her eyes were glazed and half-lidded.

"You sure? You seem, I dunno― _wistful,_ for some reason."

"It's nothing. Honestly, I just feel...a tad homesick, I guess." She reached down and took some fallen leaves from the ground, letting them fall casually from between her fingers. "This time of year is really beautiful back there. I know it's dumb, but I feel sad that I'm missing it."

"Ah." Callum nodded slowly, not quite sure what else to say. Then his brow furrowed.

"Hey, I just realized...you're from _Xadia._ "

"Oh, really?" Rayla said, and her melancholy tone was now replaced by sarcasm. "Just now caught on to that, did you?"

"No, I just mean―that's _really_ far away. As far as you can get without sailing to another continent." He pictured a map in his mind. "I'm pretty sure that you could go from Katolis City to the northern coast and that would only be, like... _half_ as far as Xadia's eastern coast."

She shrugged. "Something like that," she said, looking off into the distance.

Callum crouched down beside her, following her gaze. "I'm sorry," he said finally. "That must be hard for you."

She didn't answer for a long moment. Then, just as Callum was about to stand up and awkwardly excuse himself, she asked "What's the farthest you've ever been from home? Just out of curiosity."

"Huh? Oh. Well―our family's been to the other human kingdoms a few times. You know, when King Harrow had to go on diplomatic missions and stuff."

"I don't think that's quite the same, if your whole family was there," Rayla said. "I don't think I'd be _so_ homesick if I still had the other elves with me. But now it's just me and...a couple of million humans."

" _Oh._ "

Callum's tone made her realize just how bitter she had sounded. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's...understandable, I guess. You know...there was the trip when my mom and I first moved to the capital. This was―well, it _seemed_ like a really long trip, but I guess it was actually only a couple of days. I would have been three of four, so I can barely remember it. But I do remember being really scared and...lonely, kind of."

Rayla's interest was pique. "Lonely how? You had your mother with you, right?"

"Yeah, but...we left behind everyone I used to know, and I didn't really understand why at the time. She kept trying to tell me that everything was okay, but nothing she did could really comfort me." He shrugged. "I know it's not the same thing, but I guess that's the closest I've ever come to how you probably feel."

She nodded slowly, then forced a smile.

"Well, never mind all that. If I have to be alone with a bunch of humans, you and Ezran are at least some _tolerable_ humans to be stuck with."

"Aw, thanks," Callum said, and Rayla was pleased that his tone was sardonic but not offended.

"Besides, hopefully we'll be in Xadia soon, and then it will be _your_ turn to be the weird, lonely foreigners."

He smirked. "And I'm sure that you'll be a tolerable guide for us when we get there."

"I'll do my best to live up to your expectations."


End file.
